Joining the MPCNC Team

After only a week with a Sainsmart 3018, I quickly realized I needed to go bigger…much bigger. However, I really appreciated the support offered in the FB Sainsmart Users Group.

I ordered the 23.5mm version of the MPCNC along with the hardware last night. I’m waiting for a shipment confirmation. I’m planning a cutting area of 25x25 inches, and going with the Dewalt 660 tool, and the miniRambo board.

The support in this forum is very encouraging. The fact that Ryan routinely provides guidance is impressive.

I will be using the router for mostly cutting wood and maybe polycarbonate. I build custom guitar amps inside vintage suitcases and I think this can help further customize my builds. I also do Bluetooth speakers in them.

Very excited to start this new journey!

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Those amps are really neat. Do they come with vintage suitcases big enough to protect them? :slight_smile:

Welcome to the crew!

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That’s actually a good point! The brown amp has been around the world on tour and still going strong. Thanks for the welcome!

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Personally, I envision the steamer trunks from Joe Versus the Volcano

Seconded! And most excellent looking cases! Makes me wish I hadn’t given up on my musical dreams… (although I think the wife and kids are quite happy I did).

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I can just visualize the steamer trunk with black foam milled to exactly match one of the suitcases… And perhaps a false bottom over that so you can stuff your clothes in as well. I’m sure TSA wouldn’t have any issues with what they see on the X-ray as the trunk moves through. :slight_smile:

My buddy makes some guitars out of old cereal tins and things, those amps would go nice with them.

Can’t wait to see what you make, welcome! We have a solid FB group as well but it is too hard for me to keep up with all the notifications so I spend most of my time here in the forums.

Package arrived today and I am already impressed with the obvious care Ryan used to box the goods.

Bought my conduit at Lowe’s for about $17. I got an extra 5’ section in case I miscut a piece. I already had a 6" cutoff saw from Harbor Freight that worked perfectly to cut the pieces down to size.

I spent about 4 hours building the legs, tool holder, and Z-axis components. The instructions are well-thought out and easy to follow.

I’ll finish the build later this weekend. I’m going to the OU - West Virginia football game with my wife tomorrow. But as soon as we return I’ll be working on completing the machine.

Also, a lucky stroke…because I’m an educator (school principal) I get Fusion360 for free. Looking forward to that!

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Awesome, thanks.

I highly recommend that you do not start with Fusion CAM, CAD is fine and great, but the CAM is insanly difficult compared to Estlcam. If you get to the point Estlcam is “easy” for you and you think you found some deficiencies try fusion CAM.

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I completed the build this afternoon. I’ve gone with 3/4" MDF for the table. The footprint of my MPCNC is 3’x3’.

I’m taking Ryan’s advice and staying away from Fusion 360, although nearly 30 years ago I used AutoCAD, Microstation, and ArcGIS professionally. I realize things have changed! I’m starting with Repetier and EstlCAM.

Y-axis moves correctly, X-axis is moving backwards (I’ll flip connector), and the Z-axis moves, but seems slow compared to the X/Y movement.

Any thoughts on if it’s an issue or just newbie perception?

 

Fusion 360 is certainly a learning curve. Way more complicated than AutoCAD. I’ve been going through the Fusion 360 training but keep going back to SketchUp for design. From SketchUp I export to dxf and finish up with Estlcam.

Because of the screw, the Z Axis moves at 8mm/revolution so what you are seeing is normal.

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I did some 2D autocad in school and for fun a while ago. Librecad is a close alternative for me and it’s open source and free. You just have to make sure you ungroup stuff before exporting dxfs for Estlcam.

I use onshape now mostly though. Librecad only if I really know the dimensions of things.

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Yeah, the important thing is that it is moving the right distance. If you move 10mm, it should move 10mm, not 5mm and not 20mm.

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I plotted the crown with very good results. I only had a big sharpie closer by, but it still ended up nice. You can see my false starts, as well as a smaller scale attempt.

Is there a guide to mounting the DeWalt 660?

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I think the pictures on thingiverse for the mount are pretty solid, ask questions if you are unsure.

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Back in my heavy metalin’ days I once played a show with a band that had a really cool but very impractical bass cabinet made out of an old floor model CRT television. Your amps look rad though!

I assume you baffle the seam where the two halves meet? My mind goes right to fears of buzzing otherwise.

Thank you for the kind words! These 80 year old cases are so well built, there is no need to baffle the seam. What I sometimes have to do is rebuild the latches or handles to address rattles. I’ve shipped these all over the country.